Auto Club of Southern California driver Robert Hight earns No. 3 qualifying spot for Sunday’s Mile-High Nationals

DENVER (July 22) – Robert Hight is ready to “get the monkey off my back.”
And if his final qualifying performance for this weekend’s Mile-High Nationals at Bandimere Speedway carries over to race day, he stands a good chance to take the Auto Club of Southern California Chevrolet Camaro SS to the winner’s circle for the first time this season.
Hight’s best qualifying effort came in Saturday’s final round, when he took the car to down the track at 3.905 seconds at 318.17 mph. That netted him three bonus points, and put him back at No. 3, which he had earned Friday and maintained for much of Saturday before the final session. His previous best effort was Friday, with an opening-round pass of 3.973 seconds at 313.56 mph.

Hight said the bonus points were nice, but was happier that the car carried all eight cylinders from start to finish in the final round. He lost cylinders in the second and third qualifying rounds, and dropped a hole in a first-round loss earlier this month at Chicago.
The final-round qualifying effort also meant John Force Racing swept the top three qualifying positions for the second time this season and 19th time in team history.
“That’ll drive you crazy,” Hight said about losing cylinders. “(Crew chief) Jimmy Prock and these guys, they’ve been worried that if they get lean enough, once it goes, it’s going to hurt the engine or burn up. They’ve been picking at it, and they finally got it to run on eight cylinders. We ran right with our other teammates (No. 1 Courtney Force and No. 2 John Force) and that shows we’ve got a good combination.”
Hight has three victories at Bandimere Speedway – his rookie season in 2005, as well as 2010 and 2014. He has also won 11 of 12 first-round matchups at the track, and owns a 25-9 record at the mountainous setting. He’ll face No. 14 Todd Simpson, whom he has defeated twice in previous matchups – both at Denver and both in the first round.
“I’m ready for race day,” Hight said. “We’ve won here before, and we’re ready to put this thing in winner’s circle.”
Eliminations begin at 11 a.m. Mountain time, with television coverage on Fox beginning at 1 p.m. Mountain.
4-Second Reads:
Qualifying Round 1 (Left Lane): 3.973 seconds/313.56 mph; strong run from start to finish (No. 3 of session and No. 3 overall; one bonus point)
Qualifying Round 2 (Right Lane): 8.143 seconds/91.58 mph; dropped a cylinder just after the light and coasted to the finish (No. 8 of session and No. 3 overall; no bonus points in session and three bonus points overall)
Qualifying Round 3 (Right Lane): 7.673 seconds/95.79 mph; dropped a cylinder early (No. 14 of session and No. 3 overall; no bonus points in session and one bonus point overall)
Qualifying Round 4 (Left Lane): 3.905 seconds/318.17 mph; quickest pass of the session and moved back to third after falling to fourth earlier in the session (No. 1 of session and No. 3 overall; three bonus points in session and four bonus points overall)
This is the second time this season and 39th time in his career Hight has qualified No. 3. The last time Hight qualified No. 3 was in May at Topeka.
Hight’s last victory from the No. 3 qualifying position was in March 2016 at Gainesville. He has eight victories and 11 finals appearances from the No. 3 spot.
This is the first time Hight has qualified No. 3 at Bandimere Speedway.
Hight’s matchup against Todd Simpson marks the third time the two will compete against each other. Hight has won the previous two matchups, both at Denver (2011 and 2014).